


On the Shores of the Empyrean Sea

by violue



Series: The Warmth of Seraphina's Flame [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Pre-Slash, Soulmates, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 07:52:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16888569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violue/pseuds/violue
Summary: War brings death, not surprises.





	On the Shores of the Empyrean Sea

**Author's Note:**

> I was browsing the subreddit "Writing Prompts" a couple months ago and came across the most [_amazing_ prompt/fill](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/66uo64/wp_you_live_in_a_world_where_your_soulmate_is/dglihtn/). "You live in a world where your soulmate is unable to hurt you, intentionally or otherwise. You are fighting in a war, when one of the enemy's knives harmlessly glances off you." I read the top prompt fill and my mind _immediately_ went to Destiel. I wrote this brief piece to scratch that itch. 
> 
> Credit for the original idea goes to [Kathiana](https://www.reddit.com/user/Kathiana) on reddit, this ficlet is basically fanfic of their brief but captivating tale.
> 
> Beta'd by my darlings Kris and Lydie.

It has been years since Castiel last felt the cruel sting of war. All too familiar is the stench of blood, the clash of steel, the screams and groans of dying. The sheer _madness_ of it all. His superiors tell him that battle is where he shines brightest, but that warrior hubris can only carry one so far. Men— _good_ men with families, homes, dreams —they have come to this beach to die. One moment they are alive and roaring with the heat of battle, the next they are a carcass. Never again to laugh, to love, to cry. When Castiel trains new warriors, he tries to warn them of this, but all they see is the romance of it. Brave defenders protecting their kings and villages. Today some of those warriors are sprawled out on the shores of the Empyrean Sea, vacant eyes staring into infinity, blood soaking the ground beneath them.

Castiel is seasoned, he’s used to this, but it’s different this time. These men, these invaders are stronger than the armies Castiel has gone up against in the past. Fast, cold, brutal.

Losing men was inevitable, but they’re losing the entire battle. Balthazar has fallen, as has Abner, Uriel... poor, young Samandriel. Gabriel is looking worse for the wear as well. It is that distraction, Castiel worrying for the fate of his favorite brother, that is his fatal error. A warrior from the invading clan is upon him, swiping Castiel across the throat with his broadsword.

Only… he doesn’t. The blade strikes, and there is no pain, no blood. There is no cut. The warrior stares at him, the horror on his face echoing Castiel’s own. They both know what this means.

Every child hears the magical tales of soulmates at they grow up. The warmth that is said bloom in your chest at the sight of them, fate sealing you together. It is said that soulmates were meant as a gift from the goddess Seraphina, granting some lucky humans the great and wonderful burden of the most powerful of connections. Some soulmates are platonic, some romantic, some even family, Castiel knows. It’s a rarity, most humans can expect to never encounter a soulmate, but Castiel has been at the wedding of one bonded pair, watched as they drew sharpened blades across each other’s throats and drew no blood. The truest sign of a soulmate, beyond that warmth, beyond Seraphina’s flame in your heart. A human cannot physically harm their soulmate.

It cannot be true, Castiel decides. Fate would not be this cruel, surely. He rams his sword forward, and the warrior’s eyes widen a moment before he falls back, bleeding out quickly into the sand. A mistake, Castiel was right.

Something collides hard with his back, he feels his armor cave, and he pitches forward, dazed but unhurt. When he turns there’s a man staring at him, dumbfounded. He’s holding the largest mace Castiel has ever seen. Surely, surely that should have hurt, pierced his armor and his skin, maybe broken a bone, but nothing. Castiel slashes his neck and watches him drop.

He stops hesitating after that. The warriors come, and not one of them can harm him. They strike, and nothing happens. Castiel stops looking for Gabriel, stops wondering why these invaders can’t kill him, he lets the call of his mother’s berserker blood take him over. He loses count of how many he takes down, he kills and kills until exhaustion begins to overtake him, mind clouded by the red fog of battle and blood.

The next thing he knows he’s on his knees, arms bound behind his back. He glances to his left and right, there are others on their knees, lined up along the shore, heads held up defiantly, even in defeat, each with an armed invader standing behind them.

Gabriel is not among them.

Castiel’s heart feels dry, cold.

There is a man at the far end of the line, regarding the captured slowly. Castiel assumes this is their leader. He says nothing as he walks along the line, an intimidation tactic perhaps. Castiel is not intimidated. He is not afraid. He is simply tired, ready to join his mother and father in Cherubian’s fields. Perhaps Gabriel is there as well, waiting to crack jokes and fill Castiel’s boots with mud while he sleeps.

The general comes closer to Castiel, and his step falters, his dispassionate green eyes turning wide and alarmed. Castiel stares back. He understands now, why those men couldn’t kill him, he can feel the answer in his chest.

The warmth of Seraphina’s flame.

 

**Author's Note:**

> It feels fairly unlikely that I'll continue this, because my fantasy world building skills leave a lot to be desired, but... I mean never say never.
> 
> (In the reddit thread, some people didn't understand the original writer's twist, in case anyone here doesn't either; Dean is Castiel's soulmate, as a general Dean's men are an extension of him, thus none of them were able to hurt Castiel.)


End file.
